As an auditor of Quality Systems and a consultant, I find myself in a unique position to observe the evolving conditions of many companies both domestically and globally. A conspicuous phenomenon is that the status quo or stability in Quality Systems which existed before the covid period have been profoundly upset in the post covid era. Generally, factors which have influenced instability in Quality Systems during and since covid include: Many companies had to go into survival mode to stay in bu...

POV: Forever that acronym will be etched in my memory as Privately Owned Vehicle of government expense report fame, but today it has gained social media popularity as Point of View. Today I’ll stick to the latter. Depending on your POV, Artificial Intelligence, herein AI, is either a panacea fueling aerospace growth, or is a harbinger of the apocalypse. I’ll stick to the former. As many of you know if you have been following my posts for any length of time, I fancy myself an unofficial historian...

INTRODUCTION: As I was researching and writing this article the morning headlines read “Thousands Flee as Wildfires Burn Out of Control Around Los Angeles.” Honestly, I was in wonder at this coincidence, but here we go. I had the pleasure of being engaged in working on a project to certify aircraft on behalf of a US State who contracts with Aerial Firefighting companies. In the process I learned a lot about the distinctive aspects of these aviation operations, and since I know a few of ASA’s con...

I have received many inquiries about opening FAA repair stations in the USA and have had the pleasure of working with clients on many such projects. I have also worked with clients to open a Canadian AMO and Brasilian repair station, but those are ideas for another article someday. Since this has become a topic of consideration in many a business plan, I thought I’d share some practical nuggets from experience for you to better develop your implementation and execution strategy. This information...

In this age where we bask in torrents of overwhelming data, we must pause and ask, as we used to say in the military, what bits of this information comprise actionable intelligence? Most importantly is which bits can be data-mined for analysis which will contribute to continuous improvement in your operation? BACKGROUND: In my experience in working with many firms, an often-overlooked opportunity exists to data mine product returns to suppliers, or from customers and/or RMA (Return Material Auth...